Plague, the mass killer. It strikes where it pleases and takes the lives of millions. Pain and suffering follow in its path. The Bubonic Plague’s origin, widespread transmission, and population decline caused it to be Europe’s most horrible pandemic, paving the way for advancement in sanitation and medicine.
The first historical accounts of the Bubonic Plague were in Central Asia in 1338. By the early 1340’s it had already struck China, India, Persia, Syria, and Egypt. The plague was brought from Sicily to England in 1347 along the Asian trade routes (Silk Road) which imported silk, spices, ceramics, and wealth. The Black Death first infected the Black Sea port of Kaffa which then spread to Scotland, Scandinavia, and Ukraine.
The plague was originally believed to have spread from fleas infected with a bacterium known as "Yersinia pestis" on the backs of large black rats who inhabit trade ships. However, modern day researchers from the University of Oslo studied the conditions of tree rings from the 14th century and discovered the climate was not favorable to black rats. “You would need warm summers, with not too much precipitation. Dry, but not too dry." (Professor Stenseth. Gerbils, Not Rats, Spread The Black Death.) Professor Stenseth 's study suggested gerbils fell victim to infected fleas and began the infectionof this horrific pandemic. Transmission of the plague was from bites from an infected flea, contact with infected tissue or fluids, or contact with airborne droplets from a sickly person. Ships traveling the trade route with infected crews were called “Death Ships”. Every so often a “Death Ship” would enter a harbor only to be discovered that the entire crew was dead or on the brink of death. Symptoms included fever, headaches, chills, seizures, weakness, vomiting, diarrhea, black boils which oozed blood and pus (usually found on the upper thigh, groin, neck, and under the armpit), and shortly …show more content…
Measures were taken by the remaining townspeople to end the widespread of this pandemic as personal hygiene was very uncommon during this time in history. At the time waste was dumped on the streets, commoners hardly bathed, and living conditions were very poor. Toward the end of the plague, however, hygiene was rethought. Individuals did not bathe regularly, but enough, to lessen the chances of contracting the virus. Similiarly, unclean water was drunk by mostly everyone at the start of the plague, where as at the end of this illness people began to boil their water to avoid infection, and increasing the overall health. Many people quarantined themselves in their home, the infected were sealed off in their homes and left to die. Removal techniques of the deceased had advanced over this time. The bodies were burnt removing the carcasses and taking the infected fluids and tissues with it. After the plague subsided, those still alive thought they had been rid of the epidemic, but this was not the case. The Black Death had not been eliminated, just simply run its course through Europe. As hygiene and medical knowledge began to develop, fewer people fell victim to this disease. This outbreak devastated the world’s population taking around 200 million lives. Outbreaks did still occur into the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, but as medical knowledge developed it was easier to contain and very rare to
The first historical accounts of the Bubonic Plague were in Central Asia in 1338. By the early 1340’s it had already struck China, India, Persia, Syria, and Egypt. The plague was brought from Sicily to England in 1347 along the Asian trade routes (Silk Road) which imported silk, spices, ceramics, and wealth. The Black Death first infected the Black Sea port of Kaffa which then spread to Scotland, Scandinavia, and Ukraine.
The plague was originally believed to have spread from fleas infected with a bacterium known as "Yersinia pestis" on the backs of large black rats who inhabit trade ships. However, modern day researchers from the University of Oslo studied the conditions of tree rings from the 14th century and discovered the climate was not favorable to black rats. “You would need warm summers, with not too much precipitation. Dry, but not too dry." (Professor Stenseth. Gerbils, Not Rats, Spread The Black Death.) Professor Stenseth 's study suggested gerbils fell victim to infected fleas and began the infectionof this horrific pandemic. Transmission of the plague was from bites from an infected flea, contact with infected tissue or fluids, or contact with airborne droplets from a sickly person. Ships traveling the trade route with infected crews were called “Death Ships”. Every so often a “Death Ship” would enter a harbor only to be discovered that the entire crew was dead or on the brink of death. Symptoms included fever, headaches, chills, seizures, weakness, vomiting, diarrhea, black boils which oozed blood and pus (usually found on the upper thigh, groin, neck, and under the armpit), and shortly …show more content…
Measures were taken by the remaining townspeople to end the widespread of this pandemic as personal hygiene was very uncommon during this time in history. At the time waste was dumped on the streets, commoners hardly bathed, and living conditions were very poor. Toward the end of the plague, however, hygiene was rethought. Individuals did not bathe regularly, but enough, to lessen the chances of contracting the virus. Similiarly, unclean water was drunk by mostly everyone at the start of the plague, where as at the end of this illness people began to boil their water to avoid infection, and increasing the overall health. Many people quarantined themselves in their home, the infected were sealed off in their homes and left to die. Removal techniques of the deceased had advanced over this time. The bodies were burnt removing the carcasses and taking the infected fluids and tissues with it. After the plague subsided, those still alive thought they had been rid of the epidemic, but this was not the case. The Black Death had not been eliminated, just simply run its course through Europe. As hygiene and medical knowledge began to develop, fewer people fell victim to this disease. This outbreak devastated the world’s population taking around 200 million lives. Outbreaks did still occur into the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, but as medical knowledge developed it was easier to contain and very rare to